Problem: Write the following expression in its most factored form: $4x+20$
To factor a polynomial, you should first try to find the greatest common factor of all the terms. The factors of $4x$ are $1$ $2$ $4$ , and $x$ and the factors of $20$ are $1$ $2$ $4$ $5$ $10$ , and $20$ The greatest common factor of $4x$ and $20$ is $4$ We can factor out the $4$ and put it before the parenthesis. If we divide each of the terms in the original expression by $4$ we get $\dfrac{4x}{4} = x$ and $\dfrac{20}{4} = 5$ So the factored expression is $4(x + 5)$.